The Moon

The Moon is our nearest neighbors in space. Therefore it appears as a splendid object in the sky, and it is no wonder that the ancients venerate as a goddess. Moon Goddess, was almost certainly as important as the Sun God, and the lunar cults remained until recently.

The moon is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun object, but its surface is rather dark by reflecting the light in a manner similar to coal.

Gravitational forces between the Earth and the Moon cause some effects, the best known is the tide where the gravitational force exerted is stronger on the side of the land that is closer to the Moon.

The rotation of the Moon is synchronous like almost all satellites in the solar system, ie the rotation on itself is the same length of time the translation on Earth. That is why the Moon always has the same face visible from Earth.

The Moon is at an average distance of 384 467 kilometers from Earth, which is about the width of 30 Earths. Because the moon does not orbit the Earth in a perfect circle, but instead travels in a slightly elliptical orbit (oval), its distance from Earth varies between 225,740 miles (363 300 kilometers) and 251.97 thousand miles (405 500 km).

The craters are the main feature of the lunar landscape, come in all sizes, ranging from small holes to walled enclosures reaching 250 km in diameter. Some of these have a dark background; other clear; some have central pythons and others are relatively flat.

Moon Phases

As the moon orbits the Earth this seems to change, this is because the amount of light reaching it from the sun is varying depending on the location of the Earth from the Sun and the Moon. Each month the Moon has 8 phases depending on the brightness as seen from Earth.

Full Moon

Called moon phase Full Moon occurs when the Earth is exactly between the Sun and the Moon, that is the side facing our planet is fully illuminated by the sun.

Oddly, the full moon is very difficult to distinguish the craters. Almost no shadows appear, and only some features are distinguished; such as the bright radial grooves that are based on certain craters.